Philosopher's Gambit
by paninya
Summary: The Devil's Nest, is, by far, the worst bar she's ever been to.


**Philosopher's Gambit**

**Summary: The Devil's Nest is, by far, the worst bar she's ever been to.**

**Notes: Maka and Soul are both 22, and since I haven't finished Soul Eater yet, I don't know the ending. So I guess this is kind of AU for them.**

**Also, I might be turning this into a one-shot collection! Maybe, I have a lot of other stuff i have to finish... BUT, if you really want to see characters interact, a certain scenario play out, or if you want me to continue... what ever this chapter is, then drop off a review with your request! **

**I hope you enjoy!**

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The pub stunk of stale beer and cigarette smoke. The smell seemed to become more potent as the night went on, and Maka didn't believe she would be able to handle it much longer.

She looked into her glass irritably, trying to drown out the drunken yells and cat calls she was receiving. She had chosen a booth in the far corner so that she would have a full view of the room, and so the target would never slip from her sight. Soul was up at the bar, trying to hassle information out if the bartender (a muscular man with spiky hair and a long, angular face, much like that of a crocodile) and by his gestures and stiff demeanor, it wasn't going too well.

Their target tonight was an interesting one: a man (or what was left of one) that went by the alias of 'Greed'. He was reported to have taken out the last two groups for meisters and weapons that had come after him. There was a rumor that he had the ability to harden certain parts of his body so that he was invincible. Maka hoped it was just that - a rumor. If not, he wasn't going to be easy to beat, that was for sure.

'Greed' was a usual at this bar - The Devil's Nest.

With it's sub-par, unimaginative name, it didn't surprise Maka that it would be a cesspool for the seedier side of Dublith. It was appealing enough from the outside, looking like a standard, well-maintained place, but when you got inside, the decor fell just short of pathetically run down.  
The paint on the walls a peeling, dirty, dark brown, which might've been forest green at some point. The chairs and booths were stained, torn, and incredibly uncomfortable.

There were strippers and whores all over the place, Maka herself had been mistaken for one when she and Soul had first walked in. The grabby man had gotten a swiftly broken nose, courtesy of an irate Soul.

Maka sighed, extremely tired and annoyed. She wanted to finish this mission as soon as possible, get back to Death City, and enjoy a nice, relaxing weekend with her boyfriend. She and Soul were_ so _overworked.

Maka's table jolted slightly, and she looked up to see Soul sitting down across from her. His scowl was deep and dark, red eyes flashing with annoyance.\

"I swear," He muttered. "That bartender was _purposely_ being unhelpful."

Maka sighed. "Greed _is_ a regular here. Did it ever occur to you that he might be friends with some of the people here?"

"...Maybe," Soul grumbled. "Can't we just kill him and get it over with?"

"Not in front of so many people." Maka replied, "We need a plan. A distraction maybe?"

Soul smirked. "Oh, I can do distraction!"

Maka laughed airily as Soul cracked his knuckles and stood.

"Hey! Lizard Ass!" He yelled to the bartender. 'Lizard Ass' whipped around with a low growl, showing off a mouth full of impressively sharp teeth.

"You gonna take that, Croc?" A short, stocky man with dark hair yelled. Maka briefly registered the katana strapped to his waist. How strange.

"Whadda _you _want, you Ishvalan scum?" Croc snarled, prompting a few low _'ohhhh's_ from the other patrons in the bar.

Maka scowled. She had no idea what an Ishvalan was, but but by the was it was followed by 'scum' and the others reactions, it couldn't be anything good.

"Why the long face?" Soul taunted, "With a name like Croc you'd think you'd look more like a crocodile, not an ass!"

Maka tuned out the rest of the yelling, and tried to focus on pinpointing Greed's soul wavelength. It was gigantic, encompassing the entire bar and a few of the surrounding buildings. It felt unnatural - hot, even. Like a giant mass of people. Maka had never felt a kinshin soul like this before. She could faintly hear screaming, which greatly unsettled her.

Frowning, Maka searched harder.

She finally pinpointed Greed as a tall, muscular man sitting in the opposite corner of the bar. He was sitting with three women. Two of them draped and cooing over him, while the third, a short haired woman with green tattoos sat across from him.

What really surprised and unsettled her her though, was the tattoo on his hand.

An orobourus. The dragon biting it's own tail. Representing immortality and infinity.

Either this Greed character was an extremely arrogant man, or he was one of the monsters Lord Death had warned them about.

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**AN: Oh man, I hope I portrayed Soul and Maka right... Please tell me if I didn't! **

**Requests are welcome!**


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